Joseph, son of Caiaphas, commonly known simply as Caiaphas in the New Testament, was the Roman-appointed Jewish high priest of the temple in Jerusalem from 18 to 37 A.D., played a key role in the trial and execution of Jesus Christ. Caiaphas accused Jesus of blasphemy, a crime punishable by death under Jewish law. Christ Before Caiaphas, by Matthias Stom But the Sanhedrin, …
The Gezer calendar is a 10th century BCE inscribed limestone tablet discovered in excavations of the ancient Canaanite city of Gezer, 20 miles west of Jerusalem, Israel. Gezer is Located Northwest of Jerusalem The calendar was discovered in 1908 by R.A.S. Macalister of the Palestine Exploration Fund. The calendar inscribed on a limestone plaque describes …
In 2 Kings 18:13-14, in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. So Hezekiah king of Judah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. Withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand of me.” The king …
Shishak is the first Egyptian king to be mentioned by name in the Bible. Prior to this the Bible uses no personal names for the Pharaohs. Head of Shishak on the Walls of Karnak Temple Because of Solomon’s idolatry, God decreed through the prophet Ahijah that He was going to take ten tribes from Solomon …
In 1979 two tiny silver amulets, inscribed with ancient Hebrew script, were found rolled into tiny scrolls in a burial cave in Jerusalem. They were incised with a sharp, thin stylus, no thicker than a hair’s breadth, and thus deciphering the inscription was difficult. The lower part of the inscription has been identified as a …
The Arch of Titus is located on the highest point of the Via Sacra, a road leading to the Roman Forum. It was constructed by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus’ victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Bust of Emperor Titus Arch of Titus The Roman army, led by the …
Cyrus II of Persia (600 BC or 576 BC–530 BC), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. The reign of Cyrus the Great lasted between 29 and 31 years. Cyrus built his empire by conquering first the Median Empire, then the Lydian Empire …
Perhaps the most significant Bible character to come from Moab was Ruth. She is mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5). Ruth in Boaz Field by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1828 Mesha was the king of the Moabites who was forced to pay tribute to the king of Israel. The Bible tells …
In the Bible, Pontius Pilate was a prefect of the Roman controlled province of Judea. Pilate tried to convince the crowd being urged by the chief priests and elders, that Jesus was innocent but the crowd still demanded the death of Jesus. Eventually before ordering the final command to sentence Jesus to death, Pilate washed …
The Pool of Bethesda is located north of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The name Bethesda means “house of mercy”. Apostle John records how Jesus healed a man who was lame for thirty-eight years at the Pool of Bethesda. The water source was a nearby spring and there was a tradition that at certain times …